Plenty at stake in Tuesday’s election

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By Todd Dorman and Charlotte Eby | Monday, November 06, 2006 |

GUTHRIE CENTER, Iowa — It may not look like it, but Joy and Dewayne Doubleday’s tidy rural home is on the front lines of a high-stakes struggle to capture Iowa’s most powerful political job.

Joy Doubleday and a small group of friends, cell phones in hand, have turned the home into a get-out-the-vote phone bank for Republican candidate for governor Jim Nussle. They’re plowing through a call list as thick as a county seat phone book.

There’s patriotic bunting on the porch and hot coffee in the pot when Nussle’s huge campaign bus lumbers into the driveway. He’s stopping by to thank them with just days left in the campaign.

“We’re praying for you,” Joy Doubleday tells Nussle. She said there was never any doubt whom she would support.

“We believe in marriage between one man and one woman, and we believe in the sanctity of life,” she said. “I just think he’s proven himself as a leader.”

Across the state in a Bettendorf union hall, James and Doris Hughes of Davenport are listening to their choice — Democratic candidate for governor Chet Culver.

James Hughes, 70, a retired Teamster and former transportation business owner, said his biggest issue is the cost of health care. His wife Doris, 67, is diabetic and is terminally ill with bone cancer.

The couple spends thousands of dollars annually on prescription drugs, even with expanded Medicare drug coverage. Hughes insists Republicans in Congress who created that coverage helped pharmaceutical companies at the expense of seniors.

He holds Nussle partially responsible.

“In 2002, he wouldn’t even meet with us,” Hughes said.

Intensity on both sides of the race for governor isn’t surprising considering what’s at stake.

On Tuesday, Iowa voters will pick a new governor for only the fourth time in 38 years. It promises to be a pivotal and far-reaching decision in a state that gives its governors enormous power, and where voters tend to stick with their choice election after election.

The last three governors — Robert Ray, Terry Branstad and Tom Vilsack — served 14, 16 and eight years in office. Vilsack declined to seek a third term this fall.

“It’s not so much like Iowans are selecting a governor, it’s almost like they’re selecting the head of their household,” said Doug Gross, a former Branstad chief of staff who ran for governor in 2002. “That’s really how Iowans feel about it.”

Vilsack has been on the road and the airwaves trying to keep the governorship in Democratic hands.

“This is one of the most critical decisions, because it’s a critical period of time,” Vilsack said.

Broad powers, political clout

The candidate who comes out on top Tuesday will inherit broad powers to shape state government.

He will take the reins of dozens of Executive Branch agencies and tens of thousands of state workers who build the roads, investigate child abuse, guard prison inmates and patrol the highways.

The governor will decide who should lead those agencies and who will sit on dozens of boards and commissions that regulate everything from riverboat casinos and public schools to state universities and massage therapists.

Those picks are subject to Senate approval, but rejections are rare.

One of the next governor’s first jobs will be to present a more than $5 billion state budget plan for fiscal year 2008. That budget forms the basis for much of the Legislature’s 2007 agenda.

And although it’s the Legislature’s job to revise and approve the budget, the governor may use his line-item veto pen to liberally edit the final product. A stroke of the governor’s pen can put bills into the Iowa Code or onto the scrap heap.

Governors also can exert their will through executive orders, as Vilsack did when he restored voting rights to felons who had completed their sentences. And they have vast authority to shift dollars within the budget without legislative approval.

Tuesday’s winner will become commander-in-chief of the Iowa National Guard and will have the power to commute criminal sentences and grant pardons.

However, Vilsack’s two terms showed that power has limits.

Courts shot down his executive order on gay and lesbian employment rights and his attempt to use line-item vetoes to strike portions of nonbudget bills. Another line-item veto dispute with lawmakers is looming. Earlier this year lawmakers voted to override his veto of property rights legislation.

“We have a strong governorship, and we have governors who try to make it even stronger,” Gross said.

Both parties also covet the political clout that comes with holding the governor’s seat. The governor’s office is both a vacuum for campaign dollars and a bullhorn for the party’s political agenda.

The political role of Iowa’s governor is only magnified by the state’s lead-off position on the road to the White House.

“The governor sets the tone for the entire political environment in the state,” said Gordon Fischer, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairman. “When you control Terrace Hill, you control the agenda.”

Todd Dorman can be reached at (515) 243-0138 or at todd.dorman@lee.net.

ISSUES

Renewable fuels

Culver: Proposed a $100 million Iowa Power Fund that would assist the expansion of businesses in the renewable-energy industry. Also wants to invest in the research and development of alternative energy. Would offer tax credits for flex-fuel vehicles.

Nussle: Wants 20 percent of energy consumption to come from renewable energy by 2020. Would offer tax credits for flex-fuel vehicles.

Stem cell research

Culver: Wants to repeal parts of an Iowa law that restricts some forms of embryonic stem cell research, arguing it has the potential to offer cures for a number of diseases. He would spend $10 million to create the Iowa Center for Regenerative Medicine.

Nussle: Opposes lifting state restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. Supports adult stem cell and cord blood research.

Abortion

Culver: Opposes changes to Iowa’s current abortion laws.

Nussle: Opposes abortion, even in cases of rape, incest or the health of the mother.

Minimum wage

Culver: Supports raising Iowa’s minimum wage to $7.25.

Nussle: Supports raising Iowa’s minimum wage.

Same-sex marriage

Culver: Says he opposes allowing same-sex marriage, but would not support a change in Iowa’s constitution banning it.

Nussle: Believes Iowa should adopt a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Gambling

Culver: Says communities that missed out on the latest round of casino licenses should have another chance to get one.

Nussle: Opposes allowing more casinos to open in Iowa.

Taxes

Culver: Has proposed a $100 million tax relief package, including income tax relief for low- and middle-income families and property tax relief.

Nussle: Wants to return a portion of budget surpluses to taxpayers. He also is calling for the appointment of a commission to study property tax reform.

— Compiled by Charlotte Eby

OTHER RACES

Secretary of agriculture

Who’s running: Republican Bill Northey is a Spirit Lake farmer and former president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association; Democrat Denise O’Brien is an Atlantic farmer and executive director of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network.

What’s at stake: The secretary of agriculture oversees state programs for farms, fuel and mining. O’Brien says she would create a new program to assist young farmers and encourage young people to consider farming. She has a background in organic farming and believes the state should do more to assist this growing industry. Northey says he would expand the state’s support for renewable-fuel research and act as an ambassador for Iowa fuel across the country.

Secretary of state

Who’s running: Republican Mary Ann Hanusa of Council Bluffs is the former director of the White House Office of Personal Correspondence; Democrat Michael Mauro is the Polk County auditor.

What’s at stake: The secretary of state oversees elections and the registration of businesses. Mauro says his background as a county election official and his reputation for integrity mean he is best equipped to deal with rapid changes in voting laws and technology. Hanusa says her record in government shows she has the honesty and integrity to run the secretary of state’s office in a nonpartisan way.

Iowa House, Senate

Who’s running: All 100 seats in the House are up for election, along with 25 of the 50 seats in the Senate. Republicans hold a 50-49 majority in the House, and the Senate is tied 25-25.

What’s at stake: Democrats plan to pass legislation to raise the minimum wage, increase teacher pay and expand access to health care. Republicans plan to look for ways to cut property taxes for businesses, help small businesses enter into insurance-sharing pools, and place limits on the ability to sue doctors.